3pt5 CCTV High
by Lamby
Summary: Bayville High's new principal wants to turn the school into a reality TV show, a TV news crew is staking out the Institute, Gambit is due in court and the Brotherhood make a feeble attempt to become stars- and as things develop, they take a darker turn.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip.

**01**

Previously, on X-Men Evolution…..

"...Now we are going over to our entertainment correspondent Vikki de Matteo, who is live on the red carpet outside the Bayville Crown Plaza Hotel. Vikki how is the atmosphere downtown? "

"Thanks Mike, the atmosphere is building nicely on this very important evening for entertainment in Bayville. I'm outside the hotel now and the expectation is electric. This night has been hotly anticipated ever since Pizzazz! Entertainment Corporation completed its takeover of TV channels Bayville District News, Bayville Lite Entertainment, the Bayville Bulletin newspaper group and our very own Radio Bayville. Pizzazz! Entertainment is leaving no stone unturned in its quest to become the biggest name in Bayville for all your news and entertainment needs…"

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"Remy!"

"Belle," Gambit acknowledged her solemnly. "You look good Chere."

"T'anks," Bella Donna replied, shell-shocked. She didn't return the compliment. "You… you work here?" Gambit nodded. Bella took a look over her shoulder and then leaned towards the counter. "It a mark, right? You're casin' it for an assignment?"

"Non," Remy told her, "dis my job, Belle. I gone straight."

"Oh!" Bella exclaimed. "Bien. I mean dat Gambit, good for you." She was so patronising, looking at him with such pity, that Remy wished the floor would open up and swallow him. "I have too of course…"

"So I see," Remy replied, "Bayville Lite. You on TV Cherie?"

"Oh no! I make TV, I'm a producer." Belle's cell phone rang again and she instantly went to answer it. "I gotta take dis, but it's been fun Chere. You keep up the good work, okay?"

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With shaking hands, Jean pushed the door open a fraction. Pressing her face to the door, she could just about make out the two figures. She tried to engage her telepathy, but Magneto was wearing his shielding helmet, and his companion read only as static. That was strange in itself, but Jean had no time to consider it. If she listened hard enough, she could just about make out fractions of the conversation.

"…always wanted a car like dis," Magneto's companion was female, and there was something familiar about her accent that Jean couldn't place. Magneto had his back to Jean, for which Jean was grateful. His associate looked up at him and addressed him bluntly. Jean wondered if the woman had more courage than sense. "…team ready?" were the only words Jean caught. Whatever Magneto said in reply Jean missed entirely, but the woman laughed.

"The fireworks are… ten minutes…" Jean heard her say, but that was all. Magneto said something else, something that the woman did not find so humorous. "He's a man o' his word…"

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"Professor, I… I'm in some trouble. I need your help."

"I'm not sure what you expect me to do Gambit?"

"I swear, dis jus' all one big misunderstanding. Only t'ing is, de bail…"

"Bail?" The Professor raised an eyebrow.

"It's thirty thousand dollars. If you can pay it, I swear I will pay it back. Dey got the wrong man, Professor, you gotta believe me…"

"I'm sorry Gambit. I have to think of the example we'd be setting to the students."

"Professor, please!"

"Goodbye Gambit," Xavier said as he hung up the phone.

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"You won't reconsider? One li'l job Blaze, somet'ing I know you are good at, and then that is the last you will see of me."

"No," Blaze shook her head to prove her point. She turned to leave and then glanced back over her shoulder. "You had better take good care of that car."

"Sure," Bella Donna was disinterested at best. "Same time next week then, Amie."

"I'm not your friend," Blaze muttered as she walked away.

Bella had gone back to her car and opened the driver's side door. She was about to climb in when something startled her. She called out, "Blaze? Is dat you?" There was no answer. Dismissing her instincts, Bella turned once more to get into the car. She almost jumped out of her skin to see Gambit, swathed in his trench coat, standing by the passenger side door. Very seriously he asked her one question.

"What's the job?"

Roll titles…..


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip.

**02 **

"Are they still there?"

"Who?" Kitty asked. She was ignored.

"Yes," Ilehana Xavier, the Vixen, sighed. Wolverine crossed the kitchen and put a hand on the blonde woman's shoulder. "They are just sitting there, watching, waiting to strike."

"Who are?" Shadowcat tried again, but again no one answered.

"Have you or the Professor managed to read their minds?" said Ororo as she poured herself a breakfast tea.

"Yes," confirmed Vixen, "they honestly don't know what they are doing here either. Which in some ways makes it worse; because someone has sent them here knowing that we have telepaths. Someone knows exactly what they want from us."

"What someone?" Kitty said. "Are any of you going to tell me what's going on?" The three adults exchanged a cryptic look, but the decision to tell the girl was taken away from them when the pyrokinetic Blaze walked into the room.

"You do realise," said the British girl, "that there's a bloomin' TV news crew sat in a van by the gate?"

"There's what!" Kitty yelped.

"Calm down Half Pint," Logan told the girl. "They're not doing anything, not yet anyway."

"Is that supposed to be reassuring?"

"Where are you going Blaze?" Ororo said, ignoring Kitty. Blaze had raided the kitchen cupboards for snacks, which she had stashed in the pockets of the overlarge black hooded sweatshirt she was wearing, and was now heading out of the kitchen. "Work," Blaze said, meaning the coffee shop in the Bayville Mall where she had a job.

"Past the TV crew," said Logan, "I thought you were camera-shy?" He was alluding to Blaze's criminal past and that someone might recognise her if she appeared on the news.

"Contrary to popular opinion I'm not stupid," Blaze replied brusquely. Then she left. For a moment no one in the kitchen said anything. Then Ilehana spoke, her voice distant, "Blaze has climbed over the wall. The TV crew didn't spot her."

"Good," Logan said gruffly.

"That's great," Kitty was less impressed, "but some of us have school today. Do you really expect us to climb over walls and walk?"

"She has a point, Logan," Ororo said.

"You kids don't know you're born," Logan growled. "Alright, I'll drive you there in the X-Van. Go round everyone up and report to me in the garage in fifteen minutes."

"Fifteen minutes!" screeched Kitty, leaping to her feet and running into the hallway. "I'm never gonna make it!"

Ororo chuckled. Ilehana gave a small smile. Logan just rolled his eyes. He picked up his coffee and the morning paper and went to find a quiet spot for half an hour…

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That morning Bayville High was bustling with excitement. The last principal was now Mayor Kelly and his old position had been vacant for nearly the whole term. The school was flush with rumours about why the job had not yet been filled. As the pupils filed into the sports hall for a special assembly, Kitty and her classmates traded the latest gossip and wondered aloud whether today was the day they'd find out who the new top dog was going to be.

"I heard Cathy Catterick say that Mina Matthews' uncle is dating one of the school secretaries," said Kurt. "Cathy said that Mina said that her uncle was told by his girlfriend that the school governors were after the principal of some other school, but that the other principal couldn't decide if they wanted the job."

"Yeah, I heard something like that from Eddy in math class," Rogue confirmed.

"Eddy the Shriek?" Kitty wasn't convinced. "How does he know anything? He barely even speaks to anyone."

"He speaks to me," Rogue argued.

"He has a crush on you," Kurt laughed. "Maybe Angel should be worried?" Rogue gave Kurt a thump on his arm, making him wince. Then she said, "Eddy's cousin Margo is at Roehampton, y'know, the private boarding school where the Professor sent Ilehana. Margo told Eddy that their principal Ms Frost had a job offer earlier this term, but she decided not to take it. Eddy reckons it was our principal's job she was offered."

"I wouldn't have taken it either," Kitty scoffed as the three friends joined Bobby and Roberto on a bench halfway up the stand. "Imagine trading a private school for this dive, I mean, doh! I could go the other way in a flash, but imagine the come-down coming here every day after that?"

At that moment, a posse of school governors and teachers walked into the room and lined up around a specially erected podium. The chair of the governors went over and tapped the microphone with his fingertip. The sound reverberated around the hall, bringing silence where moments ago there had been a flood of conversation. All the students looked over expectantly. Was this it? Was their new principal about to be unleashed upon them? The chairperson basked for a moment in the tide of anticipation. Then he cleared his throat.

"Good morning students," he announced. "Thank you for your attendance this morning. I promise that this won't take long, and you will be back in class before you know it." There was a groan from the students. "I'm sure that you are all by now aware that the position of school principal has been filled. I know you are all waiting with baited breath to find out who our new principal is to be, so I will not delay any longer. May I present to you…" he paused for effect, "…Principal Radford."

Through the double doors at one end of the hall came a tall black man dressed in a pinstripe suit. He was accompanied by a news reporter and a cameraman baring the Bayville District News logo. Behind the trio walked a confident blonde woman in cowboy boots, her heels clicking on the polished wooden floor. A wave of conversation brushed over the gathered student, under which Kurt hissed in dismay.

"Oh no! It's Paradox!"


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip

A/N: Paradox appeared in my previous story 'Scribbled out the Truth'.

**03**

It was indeed Paradox. The mutant who had the power to take another mutant's ability and turn it into the most improbable counterattack walked up to the microphone. The chair of the governors stepped aside, leading the applause that started with the adults and crossed to the students. None of the X-Men joined in. Paradox had zapped Kurt, sending him into another reality where the X-Men did not exist. He'd also taken on five X-Men, namely Kurt, Kitty, Ilehana, Blaze and the now dismissed Gambit, and nearly beaten them on their own turf. Now he was to be their principal? It didn't bare thinking about. It certainly didn't warrant applause.

The TV crew turned the camera around from the smug-looking new Principal Radford to show the applauding staff and students. Paradox waited for the camera to focus on him once more before he made his opening address. He spoke calmly and clearly, with a smile that automatically disarmed almost everyone in the room. He was so instantly trustable, so charming, that what he said seemed the most sensible idea the school had ever witnessed.

"Thank you, thank you. I feel very welcome. I know that this is going to be the start of a long and fruitful relationship between us, students and teachers, educators and educated. We have so much to offer each other, so much to learn, on both sides. This school is fundamental to the future not only of its students, but also of Bayville. Your town needs you! You are important to the town and to its people. The people of Bayville want to be proud of its youth. They should be proud of their youth!

"In my first action as your Principal, I propose to bring us, Bayville High, to the people. I want the people out there to know exactly how proud of you they should be. How supportive of you they should be. How you should be accepted and understood. The youth of today is badly misrepresented. I want to change people's perceptions of you. I want you to all be ambassadors. Ambassadors for youth! Ambassadors for your school! Ambassadors for Bayville!"

Paradox waited for a moment for the cheers to die down. During the time he scanned the crowd with canny eyes. He saw the X-Men clustered together and that they were not joining in with the cheering. A smile crept across his face. He waved a hand to bring the crowd back to order, and offered a wink to Nightcrawler.

"To accomplish this I propose to be at the forefront of cutting-edge media development. I have already put a proposition to Bayville Lite Entertainment, sister company to Bayville District News, under the Pizzazz! Entertainment Corporation. This proposition will make your school, and all of you, accessible to the people of Bayville and indeed the world in a way never before seen. You will be ambassadors! You will be the stars of your very own reality TV show, set right here in Bayville High School. You will be the stars of CCTV High!"

There was thunderous applause from most of the students who suddenly saw themselves as TV stars. The staff clapped too, but less vigorously and several of them looked anxious. Would this affect their lessons? Would parents get to critique the teachers from the comfort of their armchairs? Paradox seemed unconcerned.

"The first remote cameras will be installed in the communal parts of the school buildings over this weekend. My friends at Pizzazz!" Paradox offered a nod to the blonde woman, who smiled sweetly, "inform me that our to-air date for the first episode is scheduled for 9pm next Wednesday night. We are prime-time entertainment my friends, let's live up to that billing! Dismissed!"

"They can't," stuttered Rogue. "Surely they can't…"

"There's no such thing as can't," moaned Kitty.

"The Professor won't let them," Kurt was confident, sort-of. "Will he?"

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"There's nothing I can do," Professor Charles Xavier informed his worried students when they got home from school that evening. "The school is a public building and this has been licensed from the Mayor's Office."

"Damn Kelly screwed us over," growled Rogue.

"Rogue, please mind your language," chastised Charles gently. He made a mental note to warn Logan about choice of vocabulary in front of the students.

"Pizzazz! Entertainment has put a lot of money into Bayville, not just in supporting Mayor Kelly's election campaign," said Storm, who had been in the Professor's office when the X-Kids had arrived. "Even if more people object to the filming in the school, the support would never materialise to get it stopped. Besides, if they are given the option how many parents wouldn't want to be able to see what their kids get up to all day at school?"

"That ain't reassuring us Storm," Rogue griped.

"My best advice to you at this stage," said the Professor. "Is to keep a low profile and avoid the cameras as best you can. Avoid attracting attention if at all possible. It goes without saying that you must absolutely avoid using your powers."

"Gee Professor, we worked that one out already," said Kitty.

"Yeah," agreed Amara, bristling. Berserker had his arms folded defensively and Tabitha was tapping a foot impatiently on the floor. Every one of the students had filed into his office, telling Charles just how strongly they felt about being filmed without their consent. Charles sighed.

"I do understand," he empathised. "Really I do. However the situation with Pizzazz! Entertainment is more complicated than any of you realise. Without going into details, we cannot fight them on every front. I must choose the battles I think we can win. You may have noticed that the TV crew that was parked outside our gate this morning has departed, thanks to a few choice words from Wolverine. However I am sure they will be back, because someone has decided that we at the Institute are interesting enough to require a stake-out. The X-Men cannot operate under that amount of scrutiny. So I must choose, to fight for your rights to privacy at school, or to fight for your rights to privacy here at the Institute."

"They're playing you, Professor," Boom Boom pointed out.

"I know Tabitha. The timing of the TV crew this morning was evidence enough of that. However that is the situation we are in. Do you understand?" The teens all nodded, murmuring that they did. Chastened but still unhappy they left the room.

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Blaze wasn't exactly the happiest girl in Bayville that night either. Exhausted after a day working at the coffee shop in the mall, she had one more job to do before she could return home. She'd taken out an illegal cash loan in order to pay the bail to get her boyfriend Gambit out of police custody. Then she had broken up with him. Now she was working every hour she could doing his old job at the coffee shop in order to keep on top of the loan repayments. Today was payday and whilst all her coffee shop colleagues were off on a night out to celebrate, Blaze could only feel bleak about the impending meeting with her loan shark.

With the wage packet shoved in the pocket of her sweater, Blaze left the mall on foot. Her beloved car had been the down-payment for the loan. That was another thing she hated about these Friday night meetings. The loan shark always brought the car, rubbing it in. Apparently Bella Donna had always wanted one just like it.

Walking to a run-down part of town below the Bayville Bridge, Blaze had plenty of time to ponder her choices. She didn't really regret what she had done. There had been no way as an ex-thief she was going to walk into a police station to tell Gambit that their relationship was over. No one else was willing to put up the bail money. The case against Gambit was solid, when it came to trial next Wednesday he was going down for a very long time. Not able to wait to tell Remy it was over Blaze had chosen to take out the loan. She had known what she was doing. She had also known the pressure that would be put on her to return to a life of crime. So far Blaze had resisted. She had no intention of being expelled from the X-Men like Remy had been.

It was dark when Blaze reached the gap in the chain link fence that marked the way to the meeting place. She stepped through and then walked carefully down a scrubby slope to the place where Bella was usually waiting. The footing was uneven, the slope steep and Blaze had to watch where she put every foot. Only when she reached the foot of the slope directly below the bridge did she look up. Brown eyes framed with dark lashes widened in surprise. Bella Donna wasn't here. The car wasn't here. Instead a figure in a long coat leaned on a black motorbike with a Bayville District News, BDN, logo. Gambit obviously had new employers...


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip.

**04**

Blaze felt sick. Her heart did a somersault and her stomach lurched. Then she felt angry. What was he doing here? He had no right to interfere! She stormed down the last few feet of the slope to stand in front of Remy. She folded her arms defensively, tossed her long red hair back over her shoulders and pouted.

"What are you doing here?"

"Glad to see me, Cherie?" Remy shuffled cards in one hand as he spoke. He was betraying nothing of how he felt.

"Nope," Blaze retorted shortly. "Been busy?"

"Of course…you?"

"Oh y'know, the usual," Blaze ticked off her actions since their break-up on her fingers. "Started a diet…got a manicure…deleted your number from my phone."

"Funny," Remy replied flatly, still shuffling the cards. The evening breeze made his trench coat flutter. Calmly he put the cards away. Everything about his mannerisms was driving Blaze insane. How could he be so cold?

"You haven't answered my question," snapped Blaze. "Why are you here? Where's Bella?"

"Belle and I have… an arrangement," Gambit explained. He watched for any sign of jealousy on his ex-girlfriend's face, but he was disappointed. Blaze just looked stubborn and irritated. How could she be mad, when _she _had been the one who had dumped _him_? None of this was his doing. "What can I say? You took my job at the coffee shop, so I took yours."

"You took my job?" Blaze frowned. She hoped she had misunderstood. She was wrong.

"The one Belle offered you," Remy confirmed, folding his arms. "The debt's paid Blaze, you don't need to worry your pretty li'l head 'bout it no more, eh?"

"The debt… You mean your bail? The money I borrowed?" If Gambit had thought Blaze would be grateful he was grossly disappointed. "That wasn't your decision to make! That agreement was between me 'n' her, not you!"

"Not my decision?" Gambit was angry. He stepped forwards, closing the distance between them. Blaze instinctively blanched, before stealing herself and standing her ground. "You practically set dis up! What did you expect? Did you really t'ink I'd let you keep the bail debt hanging over me?"

"It was my debt! It was hanging over me, not you…"

"I ain't finished," Remy cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Did you t'ink I was gonna spend the rest of my life playin' house wit' the Brotherhood boys? I was always gonna track down where you got de money from, Chere, always."

"That didn't mean you had to take the job!" Blaze stepped forward, jabbing a finger in Remy's chest. "Even if Belle offered it to you, you didn't have to take it. I had it covered!"

"Oh because you're so enjoyin' working at the coffee shop," Gambit said sarcastically, pushing her hand away. "I can't tell you how good it feels, knowin' you're workin' in that dive."

"You won't want this then," said Blaze. She waved a brown envelope at Gambit, which he knew contained her pay. Remy just looked at her contemptuously. "Fine," she snapped. "I guess your life is as good as ruined anyway, what with your hot date at court next Wednesday. I'll want my previous payments back. And my car."

"Huh, no deal," Gambit scoffed. "My arrangement with Belle don't cover your down payments or previous instalments. Your shiny car's long gone. Besides if we're going down that route, I'll be wantin' my sweater back."

Blaze flushed, shoving her hands deep in her, or rather Gambit's, sweater pockets. Mutely she shook her head. Gambit softened slightly and reached out to touch her shoulder gently. "Cherie?" Blaze closed her eyes and sighed gently. Gambit placed his palms on her shoulders, amazed that she let him touch her. "You feel tense, Chere." Blaze murmured something, tilting her head to one side as Gambit kneaded some of the knots from the muscles there. Gambit paused, biting his tongue. He weighed his next words carefully, hoping that he might just win her back, "I been t'inking where it all went wrong…but maybe you're right. Its better we're not together. You need a man that's worth a damn." Blaze looked him in the eyes, a sad look like a lost puppy on her face.

"Truth be told," she told him, "I miss you like a hole in the head." Gambit stepped back, bewildered. Blaze carried on, her voice cracking with emotion. "You'll never know what you've done to me. I hope the judge sends you down forever and I never have to see you again."

Gambit looked like he'd been slapped, but Blaze didn't care. She didn't need him. She didn't want him. She regretted ever falling for him. She pocketed her wages, the last she'd earn at the coffee shop, turned and walked away. Maybe, just maybe, if she asked the Professor or Ilehana or Jean really nicely, they'd take away all the memories she had of the good times with Remy. She just couldn't bare living with them anymore. She put her earphones in and turned up the volume on her MP4 player until it nearly deafened her. She didn't even flinch as Gambit revved the bike and blasted past her, riding into the Bayville night.

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The weekend was a sour one at the Institute. Blaze had secreted herself away in her room and was irritating everyone with her loud indie music. Rogue and the other X-Kids moped around the mansion, avoiding Wolverine's training sessions and dreading Monday morning. The weather seemed to be as depressed as the mansion's residents. It rained all weekend, water burbled in the gutters and streaked down the windows, confining everyone indoors. Eventually though Monday dawned bright and sunny, and the X-Kids trotted off to school under strict orders from Logan to behave themselves.

Blaze slept in on Monday, rising only an hour or so before the X-Kids got back from school. She was coming downstairs for a late breakfast, just as they marched back into the foyer with sour faces and bad attitudes. Stripped of her patience by her encounter with Remy, she couldn't resist a jibe at her long-time rival Rogue, "Bad day at school?" Rogue glared at Blaze, but didn't answer.

"The worst," said Kitty. Kurt added, "And it's all your fault."

"My fault? How come?"

"Because you paid the bail money that got Gambit out of jail," said Kitty.

"Now he's workin' for Pizzazz!," snarled Rogue, "settin' up all the CCTV cameras around school for this crazy new TV programme. There ain't a part of the school Remy doesn't have covered! We're being spied on everywhere we go."

"Feel's like we're the criminals," Kurt sighed.

"I don't know if I can even face going back there," moaned Kitty.

"You know that they're just waiting for us to slip up and use our powers," Rogue pointed out. "Then it will be bye-bye high school, hello social pariah and scientific experiment."

"Remy did this," Blaze sounded dazed, "that's the job?" The X-Kids looked confused but Blaze promptly snapped out of it. "There's only one thing for it. The cameras have to be disabled."

"Nein," said Kurt. "The Professor said the X-Men cannot get involved."

"He's got enough on his plate trying to keep the BDN news crews like, totally off our doorstep," added Kitty.

"I never said anything about the X-Men or the Professor," answered Blaze. "I started this, so I'll finish it."

"What are you going to do?" asked Kurt.

"I'm gonna go back to school."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip.

**05**

"What do you mean," said Rogue moments later when the shock of Blaze's announcement had worn off. "Go back to school?"

"If I want to disable the cameras, I need to do a reconnaissance first to work out where the blind spots are. I have to get inside the school and pass under the cameras without anyone noticing," Blaze said rationally.

"You'll like, totally be recognised," Kitty pointed out.

"So I'll need a disguise," Blaze looked at Kurt's image inducer with avarice.

"No way!" Kurt covered his inducer with his hand and half-turned away to shield it from Blaze. "I am not loaning you my inducer. Go get your own."

"There are spares in a locker in the lower levels," Rogue reminded everyone.

"Shadowcat?" Blaze asked pointedly.

"No problem," Kitty giggled, sinking through the foyer floor. "Consider it done." She gave a cheeky salute just before she vanished.

"You'll need someone to reprogram it," said Rogue.

"Yeah, yeah," Blaze waved a hand dismissively. "Just whose plan is this anyway? Kurt, go round up Iceman and a laptop. Meet us in Rogue and Kitty's room."

"My room? Why my room?" Rogue protested, but Kurt was already gone. Blaze grabbed Rogue by the sleeve and set off upstairs. "Now what are you up to?"

"If I'm going to school, I'll probably need books or summot," explained Blaze. "Jean's at college, so she won't mind if I raid her room for supplies, will she?"

"Ah guess not," Rogue replied, suddenly finding herself more endeared to the plan. "Need a hand?"

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They reconvened in Rogue and Kitty's room twenty minutes later. Kitty had the image inducer and she had found Boom Boom on the way upstairs. Tabby refused to be left out, so was sitting on Rogue's bed watching everything excitedly. Iceman had set a laptop up in the middle of the floor and was frantically making adjustments to the image inducer programming. Rogue and Blaze had raided Jean's room for a black backpack, a stack of books and a collection of stationary. They had also found a pair of weak reading glasses, which they presumed Jean needed to make her look intelligent. Kurt meanwhile had made a lame excuse and disappeared again. No one was overly worried about where he had 'ported to. If he wanted to miss the fun then that was his problem.

"Alright," said Iceman. "Try it on Blaze, let see what this mark 2 inducer can do!"

"You are enjoying this way too much Bobby," Blaze told him, reluctantly taking the inducer and strapping it to her wrist. "I'm not sure I trust you to let you design my disguise."

"Oh just activate it already," Bobby replied. "I've been having some problems with the perspective ratio. You'll need to put it on so I can resize it properly…" Blaze hit the button and turned to face the full length mirror at the end of the room. Everyone burst out laughing, including Blaze.

"I'll give you perspective," Blaze threatened Bobby with a giant-sized fist. She'd grown so immense the Blob would feel small.

"Sorry, sorry," chuckled Iceman, hitting the keyboard. The image around Blaze wavered and then slimmed down, so it was just a shimmering layer over Blaze's normal size. "Ever wanted to go blonde…" Iceman hit enter and Blaze's curly red hair was replaced with luscious blonde locks. Her black hooded sweater and blue jeans were replaced with a red and white mini-dress, knee high white socks and sneakers. Her already tiny waist got smaller and her chest bigger, whilst her brown eyes turned blue and her skin tanned orange. Tabby whooped with delight. Kitty, Rogue and Blaze all turned to Iceman with one word, "No."

"I'm not cheerleader material," Blaze said with distain. "Try something else."

"Oh ok," Iceman sounded disappointed. The image flickered and disappeared, leaving Blaze her normal self again. Bobby tried some more commands and when the image came up this time it could not have been more different. Blaze's hair went black, greasy and hung in lank bangs around her ghostly white face. Black rings appeared under her eyes, whilst her nose got bigger and sported a nose ring. She was dressed head to foot in flowing black lace and clunky black leather. Her nails were painted black and so were her lips. Tabitha clapped her hands together whilst Kitty smirked and Rogue looked offended.

"Did I mention I'm not Goth material either," Blaze sighed. "C'mon Bobby, I want to blend in, not make a scene."

"Somewhere between the two," Kitty encouraged, going to sit by Bobby. "Here let me help…"

"No way," Iceman whipped the laptop out of Shadowcat's reach. "I know what your track record is with computers Kitty. You're not touching this."

"Move over Bobby," Rogue went to sit on Iceman's other side. "You've got no idea how to design a disguise."

"Yeah," said Tabitha, jumping up to join the other teens. "Let the girls have a say."

"Oh no," moaned Blaze to herself. "What have I done?"

"Get ready B," said Tabby. "This is gonna be one heck of a makeover!"

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"Not bad," Blaze said an hour later. "Not bad at all."

"About time," Kitty pointed out. "You are one fussy customer."

Blaze turned and stuck her tongue out at Kitty, then glanced back at the mirror. Gone were her long curls, replaced by straight, choppy black bangs that hung to her shoulders. The bottom layers of her jagged haircut were bright blue like Kurt's fur. She wore a white long-sleeved top under a black t-shirt with a high neckline. Her baggy dark blue jeans nearly covered the flat basketball sneakers she wore. Grey eyes peered out from under a heavy fringe, and when she opened her mouth a tongue stud winked silver at her. Her face was clean of any makeup, leaving her cheeks lightly freckled. When she put on Jean's reading glasses, the look was complete. Not too preppy, not too extreme, not too anything. Just another high school kid…

"Wow!" said Kurt as he arrived back in the room with a bamf! "Great work guys."

"Shame I still sound like me," Blaze pondered aloud, looking at her new image in the mirror some more.

"I may have a solution to that," said Kurt. Blaze turned and saw he had brought someone with him. "Meet Forge."

"Nice to meet you Blaze," said the strange youth. "I have a gift for you." The young genius held out what looked like a black choker with a navy blue stone in the centre. Blaze took it gingerly, feeling a slight buzz in the item as she lifted it.

"What is it?" Kitty asked.

"It's a voice transformer," Forge said proudly. "Go on, try it on." Blaze obediently fastened the choker around her throat. For a moment the buzzing became unbearable, but it passed. Blaze shook her head and spoke. "That feels weird." Instantly she clapped her hands over her mouth, eyes wide in shock. Forge laughed.

"Works like a dream," Forge told them all. "Take it from me, you now officially sound American. Welcome to the neighbourhood."


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip.

**06**

The same night, Gambit was late home from working on the cameras at the school. It was dark as he parked his BDN motorbike up in front of the Brotherhood house and walked up the drive. He figured the Brotherhood must all be out because the house was in darkness. He was wrong. As soon as he opened the door Toad jumped on him, literally.

"Roomy! Save me!"

"Eugh," Gambit prised Toad away from himself and stepped inside. He was greeted by an irate Wanda, intent on doing Toad some serious damage. "What's he done dis time?"

"Toad neglected to inform us that we were on our final, _final_ demand for payment for the electricity," said the Scarlet Witch. "Now they've gone and cut us off, again."

"I think she wants to kill me for real this time!" squeaked Toad, hiding behind Remy. Gambit thought about it and decided Wanda might have a point. Gambit grabbed Toad by the collar and frog-marched him back into the darkened house. Wanda followed, using her powers to turn on a couple of lights so they could see where they were going.

"Sweetums, Wanda, please I swear, I'll never forget to tell you nothin' again," whinged Toad. "Roomy, I…"

"My name is Remy," Gambit dropped Toad onto the sofa from a height. Toad bounced once before gripping hold of the edge of the seat. "Not Roomy."

"Its…err…a term of endearment," Toad gave a weak laugh. By now Lance, Blob and Pietro had gathered in the only lit room in the house. "You know, coz you live with us now…"

"It's like you, a feeble excuse for a joke," Remy was disapproving. "T'ink carefully Toad, do you know where the bill is?"

"Err… I think so," Toad gulped, sweating. Gambit put a hand on the sofa to either side of Toad and started to charge it. Toad wiggled, feeling very uncomfortable. "Hey, don't do nothin' you're gonna regret yo!"

"Where's the bill Toad?" Wanda asked. "Just tell us and Gambit will let you go."

"It…it…it's right here," stuttered Toad, fishing a crumpled piece of paper out from down the back of the sofa. He sighed with relief as Remy withdrew his mutant power and took the bill off him. Gambit pulled out a cell phone and quickly dialled the payment number on the bill. A few minutes later, the bill was paid and with a whirr every electrical item in the house started up again at once. On queue, the Brotherhood boys joined Toad on the sofa in front of the TV as if nothing had happened. Gambit and Wanda shared a despairing look.

"We can't carry on like this," Wanda told them, turning off the TV with a wave of her hand and a flash of power.

"Why not? We've managed so far sis," said Pietro.

"Because I ain't gonna be around much longer to keep bailin' you out," Gambit folded his arms and scowled.

"So leave us your credit card before you go to court," Avalanche reached for the remote and turned the TV back on again. Gambit retaliated by unplugging the set. "Hey! It's not our fault you're gonna be sent down for the break in with Pyro. Don't take it out on us."

"You losers need to make some money of your own," Gambit told them. Wanda agreed.

"Gambit is right. We need to be more self-sufficient. We can't wait around here hoping that our father is going to bail us out. We all know he doesn't respect leeches."

"What possible way have we got to make money?" Pietro argued, moving quickly to snatch the plug back off Gambit and reignite the TV.

"Maybe…" said Remy, watching a trailer for the premiere of CCTV High scroll across the screen. "Maybe I know jus' the t'ing…"

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"I swear," Principal Radford, aka Paradox, moaned from behind his desk on Tuesday morning. "I'm amazed Kelly can manage to get out of bed in a morning, let alone manage a whole town. His tenure as principal has certainly left a lot to be desired. I could spend the rest of my life trying to organise his paperwork."

"I don't t'ink we'll be here dat long," chuckled his companion. Bella Donna crossed the office to perch lightly on the edge of Paradox's desk. "I hope not anyway, dis town is startin' to seriously get me down." There was a knock at the door, and one of the school secretaries put her head around the door. She blanched to see the TV producer sitting so cosily with the new principal, but Paradox only waved a hand to invite her to speak.

"Some visitors for you sir," she said. "They say that Mr LeBeau sent them? If you're not expecting them I can always…"

"Ah, about time," Paradox said with his winning smile. "Send them in Doris. Thank you." The door closed briefly, allowing Paradox to glare at Bella. "I hope this Gambit of yours knows what he's doing." Bella only had time to shrug before the Brotherhood entered the office.

"Gambit told us you'd pay us to come back to school?" Toad bounced in ahead of the others.

"He did, did he?" Bella Donna folded her arms.

"Yeah he did," insisted Pietro, folding his arms too. Wanda sighed and stepped in front of her brother.

"No he didn't, not exactly," the Scarlet Witch replied. "He said you had a problem with your new TV show that he thought we might be able to solve. He also said if we did, you'd make it worth our while."

"Ah," Paradox flashed that smile again. Wanda had to catch herself before she went weak at the knees, forcing herself into a customary scowl instead. "Of course he did. We do have a small problem with CCTV High. You know that the premiere is due to air tomorrow night?" The Brotherhood all nodded at once. They knew. "Well, right now that premiere is not all that it should be…"

"It's boring," Bella Donna interrupted. "Half of the kids in dis school t'ink it's an audition for the next High School Musical, and the rest… lets not even talk about the rest."

"No one wants to see the footage we've collated so far," Principal Radford leant back in his big chair, crossing his long legs and putting his feet on the desk. "We need drama, excitement, things for the good people of Bayville to get horrified about. That's what makes compulsive viewing. Not the monotonous day-to-day activities we've been recording."

"So you want us to liven it up a li'l," Lance liked the sound of that.

"And you'll pay us to do it?" Blob liked it too. He was already looking forward his first school lunch.

"If you're successful," Bella Donna replied. "If you turn this into the kind of TV we want, yes, I'll see you are remunerated."

"Remuner-what-ed?" Toad got confused easily. Wanda hissed a translation at him, "She means we'll get paid."

"Awesome," Pietro decided. "Count us in. Now I…" There was another knock at the door and Doris poked her head in again. She told Principal Radford that a new student was waiting to see him.

"She has a letter," Doris the secretary explained, "of admittance signed by Principal…I mean Mayor Kelly but I can't find her on the school register?"

"Why am I not surprised," Paradox sighed, gesticulating at the mess of Kelly's old documents that were arrayed on his desk. "Sent her in and add her to the register. Gentlemen, lady, I will bid you good day. Bella Donna will show you where we need you to start work."

Bella got up from the desk and led the way out of the office. The Brotherhood filed after her, with Toad bringing up the rear. Toad was just coming through the door when the new girl came the other way. She glanced at him warily as they passed. Toad looked her over critically, finding nothing that he liked. He pulled a face and hopped on by. Only when he was out in the corridor did something suddenly dawn on him. He turned back, but the door shut with a bang and the girl was gone.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip.

**07**

"Oh rats," Kitty swore, rifling through her locker as the first tardy bell rang throughout the school. "C'mon geography book, I know you're in there somewhere…"

"Got locker trouble?" a familiar voice piped up next to her. Kitty looked up in amazement, "Lance?"

"Hey Kitty," Avalanche was leaning on the adjacent locker, hands in his pockets as he tried to look cool. He flashed a quick smile as he offered the missing geography book back to its rightful owner. "Toad thought it'd be funny to steal your book. I thought it would be funnier to stick him in a trash can, but it turns out he likes it in there."

Kitty gave a cute giggle, making Lance bolder. Their hands brushed as Kitty took hold of her textbook. Lance took half a step forwards, closing the space between them and tentatively pursing his lips. Kitty didn't notice, saying, "What are you doing back here anyway? I thought you gave up on school after the last time?"

"Yeah, so did I," Lance agreed. He scuffed the floor with his shoe, wanting to impress Kitty but not wanting to give too much away to the X-Men. In the end his eagerness to impress won out, "Gambit convinced the TV producer and your new principal to pay us to come back and make the TV show more…interesting."

"Really?" Kitty wasn't impressed. "I might have known it would have to be something like getting on TV that would bring you back here."

"Kitty, no, really…" Lance despaired as Kitty turned and flounced off down the hall in the direction of her geography class. "I… I thought we could hang out…" Lance finished lamely, but Kitty wasn't listening. She disappeared into class, letting the door close with a thud behind her. Lance rolled his eyes at the CCTV camera in the hallway, "Oh rats."

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There was an embarrassing bleeping noise in the middle of Rogue's first class. Rogue almost sniggered as the English Lit teacher spun around from writing on the whiteboard to glare at the students. Then Rogue realised that it was _her_ cell phone that was bleeping. Flushing pink, Rogue muttered an apology and dabbed a finger at the touch-screen to silence the offending technology. She slipped the phone back into her pocket until the teacher had finished setting out the lesson. Then Rogue made an excuse of needing to visit the ladies room and darted out into the corridor.

The message, like the fancy touch-screen cell phone, was from her boyfriend Angel. It read _'Hi beautiful, jus 2 warn u woz drivin by skool this am n saw brotherhud goin in. Warren xxx'_ Rogue scowled as just at that moment she heard a familiar voice echoing down the now-deserted corridor. Quicksilver had spotted Rogue and called out to his former teammate, "Smile for the camera!"

Rogue barely had time to brace herself as Pietro blasted past at one hundred miles an hour. Lockers up and down the corridor flew open as he past, with books and loose pages of paper fluttering in the breeze. He pulled up directly below one of the CCTV cameras. Rogue glanced up at the lens as it whirred slightly, pulling her image into focus. She didn't want to do anything rash that might land her a primetime TV slot. Quicksilver had no such qualms, "What's the matter, Angel got your tongue?" Pietro grinned, "Oops, then again maybe not!"

"I have to get back to class," Rogue said through gritted teeth. She turned and started to walk away. Pietro just breezed past her and leant on the doorframe, blocking her route. "What are ya doing?" Rogue hissed at him.

"Oh I dunno," Pietro chuckled, "I would have thought that the people of Bayville would want to know that the famous, charming, eligible billionaire Warren Worthington the Third was dating a high school girl." Pietro looked directly at the camera and winked, "And, I might add, not even a cheerleader. Because, lets face it, that would at least be understandable. As it is, he's just dating a freak with too much eyeliner. It'll never last."

"Ya don't know nothin' about us," Rogue snapped, forgetting herself.

"Ooh," said Pietro, rushing round the other side of Rogue, "I think that's an exclusive!" He gave her a kick and sent her stumbling back into class, much to the consternation of the teacher. "Bingo!" Pietro said as the door closed behind her, leaving him with her cell. He waved it at the camera before bringing up the text Rogue had just received and pressing 'Reply'.

'_Angel it's over btwn us. I'm jus a high skool goth who can't touch ne1 & u r a hot rich dude who can do better. If u like heavy make-up try Wanda, the brotherhood cud do wit the $$$.'_

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Blob ogled in appreciation as the school cooks readied the food for today's lunch. He pressed himself harder against the brickwork, slavering at the glass window. The bricks started to crack and buckle but Blob barely noticed. One of the kitchen assistants, looking up from the tray of profiteroles she was dousing in chocolate sauce, saw a shape at the window and screeched. The profiteroles launched into the air, chocolate spraying everywhere. Blob lost no time. He aimed for a fire exit door that had been propped open to let some air into the hot kitchen. He didn't fit, taking the frame out as he squeezed through, but he did his best. Within seconds the cooks and assistants were scattering to the wind whilst Blob stuffed his face with chocolaty pastry goodness.

"What are you doing in here?" Lance asked, his question answered as Blob turned to face him with pastries in each hand. "Forget I asked," Lance decided. "C'mon, we need to get over to the sports hall and make some decent TV out of basketball practice."

"Do we have to?" Blob moaned, "I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," Lance argued. "Bring something with you, we gotta go." Regretfully Blob picked up a plate of hot dogs and followed Lance back across the school. In the sports hall the methodical bouncing of basketballs echoed off the bare walls. Two cameras watched the young athletes going through their paces. Lance took up position behind the rows of seating, with Blob squeezing in behind him. Rolling back his eyes, Lance unleashed his powers. The floor started to tremble, sending basketballs and basketball players flinging in every direction.

In the doorway Kurt was waiting with a message for the coach from one of the other teachers. As soon as the floor started to tremble he recognised Avalanche's signature move. His suspicions were confirmed when one of the players tried to regain his footing, slipped on a wiener and landed hard on his backside. A stifled laugh from behind the seating made Kurt scowl. He teleported in behind Lance and Blob, took their collars in his hands and bamfed outside to the deserted athletics track.

"You!" Kurt was so cross he couldn't manage any more words. Lance and Blob were equally outraged, "You!"

"Get out of my school!" Kurt ordered.

"It's not your school," argued Blob, "it's ours now. You guys are too boring to make decent TV."

"Blob's right," said Lance. "You losers waved your right to call this school yours when you didn't seize the chance to be famous."

"I'll show you famous," Kurt replied. He grabbed them again and 'ported them as far as he could. Depositing them on the road out of Bayville, he saluted them once before teleporting back to class.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip.

A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting, I've had some serious computer gremlins. Fingers crossed my laptop is running a lot better today.

**08**

In the school's quad, Gambit was at work in the prefab temporary building that counted as the Bayville Lite production suite. He was lying on his back, half underneath a console surrounded by trailing wires and random tools. He'd got most of the cameras Belle wanted up and running, but every time he thought that the job was done and the deal over she sprung more work on him. The whole thing was getting him down and the thought of his impending court appearance tomorrow was not making things any better.

"Hey Roomy!" Gambit jumped, banging his head on the underside of the console, and swore loudly in French. Dragging himself out, he sat up and glared at Toad. "Don't you have class or somet'ing?"

"Nah," Toad replied. "Paradox and the boss-lady don't want us to bother with lessons. They'd rather we loitered around, causing trouble in between classes where the cameras can see it. I'm gonna be a TV star!"

"I'm happy for you," Gambit didn't sound impressed, picking up some wire cutters and diving back under the console. "Now if you don't mind, I'm workin'."

"Suit yourself," Toad replied. "I just thought you might wanna know there's a new girl started this morning. Black n' blue hair, black top, blue jeans, glasses… Maybe you picked her up on one of your cameras?"

"Why, you gotta crush?" Remy said around the bits of wire he was stripping with his teeth. He spat the plastic bit out and then started fastening the wires together. "Don't you go breakin' Wanda's heart now Toad."

"Nah, I just thought you might wanna take a closer look." Toad said with his hands in his pockets. He hopped towards the door, calling back over his shoulder as he left, "Only it looked to me like she was wearing an image inducer."

Gambit sat up, banged his head again, swore again and then clambered out into the room. Toad was long gone but that wasn't what Gambit was worried about. He stood up and turned to the bank of TV monitors above the control console. Each showed the live feed from the CCTV cameras he had positioned around the school. Only one showed the corridor running up to Paradox's office. Gambit pushed some buttons and wound back the tape, bringing up the image of the Brotherhood entering the office. He watched as the secretary then greeted the new girl, before going to the office to inform the principal. As the Brotherhood filed out, the girl with the black and blue hair stood back to let them pass. Just as Toad left the room she sidled past him. As she turned sideways Gambit stopped the tape, zooming in to see what she was wearing on her left wrist…

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Blaze was successfully enrolled as a new student at Bayville High, using an old letter acceptance from Kelly she'd found in the Institute's filing and 'adapted'. She had free access to every part of the school where the CCTV cameras were positioned. Being the new girl gave her the excuse to get a little lost and wander around the school looking vacant. Meanwhile she was carefully analyzing the camera positions, memorising their locations and more importantly the blind spots that would give her the opportunity to disable them.

Walking alone through the quad, she lifted her face to the morning sunshine and fixed her expression in a vacant daze. There were four cameras, one at each corner of the plot. What kind of radius could they see? Did they have the whole quad covered? She expected so. How then to disable them? And then it struck her. There was nothing watching the roof. She could disable them from above and no one would be any the wiser. That might even work for all the external cameras. Feeling pleased with herself, she turned a full circle, looking at the roof. She didn't care that the cameras could see her. No one knew who she was.

Leaving the quad she re-entered the school by a minor corridor that actually didn't have a camera in it. She was walking backwards, pleased with herself, looking to see if the roof-lights above might open and allow her into the building safely. The last thing she expected was to collide with someone behind her. Blaze let out a gasp as the air was driven from her, turned and started to apologise in her new American voice. The words caught in her throat as she looked up at Gambit. "Shouldn't you be in class?" the Cajun asked coolly.

"Sorry…I'm new…Guess I got lost," Blaze replied sheepishly, fishing out a crumpled timetable from her pocket. "I'm trying to get to… actually I have no idea. Can you help me please?" She gave a weak smile, holding out the piece of paper. Gambit reached out as if to take the offered timetable, then snatched Blaze's wrist and turned off the inducer. Blaze gasped as her carefully designed disguise vanished, except for Jean's glasses and Forge's voice do-hickey. Gambit scowled, "I should've known it was you."

"I…" Blaze started to try and talk her way out of it, but all words escaped her. Right at that moment, Bella Donna called out from the quad end of the corridor behind Blaze, "Remy are you hidin' down here? You got work to do in the sports hall and don't t'ink that you can put it off…"

Blaze held her breath. Her gaze fell on Boom Boom, who had just appeared round the corner at the other end from Bella. Tabby looked as horrified as Blaze felt. The game was up. Any second now Bella Donna would see her and Gambit would hand her over… Then the impossible happened. Gambit switched back on the image inducer and Blaze transformed back into a sheepish new student, clutching a timetable she didn't understand.

"You got math next. Take the corridor down there an' it's the fifth class on de left." Gambit told her loud enough for Bella to hear. Belle waited, hands on hips, as Blaze stuttered her thanks and ran to join Tabby. Gambit watched her go. Then he turned back to Bella Donna wearily, "Alright, show me what you need."

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Blaze pushed past Tabby and went directly to the girl's bathroom, whereupon she clutched the edge of the wash basin and tried to stop herself from shaking. Looking in the mirror, her strange reflection stared back at her in disbelief. Tabby arrived seconds later in her usual whirlwind style. "Did I just imagine that, or did Gambit just suss out who you were and then _not_ hand you over to his new boss-lady?"

"Tabby hush," Blaze told her friend desperately. She nodded towards the bathroom cubicles. Tabby clapped her hands over her mouth. Someone was in here already. On queue Wanda opened a cubicle door and walked out. She looked from Tabby to the new girl and back again. Using her powers she waved her hand. The image inducer deactivated and Blaze reappeared, sounding depressed, "Hey Wanda."

"Hey yourself," Wanda replied. She didn't seem surprised to see Blaze in disguise at the school.

"Do you mind," Blaze indicated the inducer, "anyone could walk in…" Wanda waved a hand and instead of turning the inducer back on she sealed the entrance. She also disabled Forge's voice thingy, so Blaze sounded her usual English self.

"I guess you're here to try and stop the TV filming," said Wanda, "but what's this about Gambit?"

"I don't know," Blaze was nearly distraught. "I just don't know…" She slumped to the floor with her back against the sinks, putting her head in her hands.

"He caught her," said Tabby, "but then he let her go. Is anyone else confused? I thought he was a bad guy again, but…" Wanda hushed Tabby, squatting down besides Blaze to talk to her friend.

"He protected you?" Blaze nodded and sniffed. "Again?" Blaze nodded a second time.

"Again?" asked Tabby, looking properly muddled. Wanda explained.

"He's only working here to get Blaze out of having to pay back the money she borrowed to pay his bail. That's right, isn't it?" Blaze nodded, pulling up the hood on her sweater so it covered her head.

"Man," said Tabby was baffled, "this is the same guy you dumped, right? What were you thinking? He must seriously be into you." Blaze wiped her nose on the back of her sleeve and tried not to cry.

"I don't think that's helping her feel better," Wanda pointed out.

"I'm alright," Blaze lied. "Help me up?" Wanda and Tabby both grabbed an arm and pulled Blaze back to her feet. Blaze turned and splashed her face with water from the sink. "I've got work to do. I'll worry about Gambit later."


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip.

A/N: looks like it was evil itunes that nearly killed my computer- uninstalled it and now its running much better- yay!

**09**

Late that night everyone connected to the school had long since gone home. Only the blinking of little red lights on the CCTV cameras disturbed the peaceful ambience. Nothing moved and there was no noise. That was until a figure with black and blue hair crept softly up to the rear of the sports hall. She scaled a fence behind the garbage store, tip-toed across a beam and shimmied up a drainpipe onto the sports hall roof.

Blaze had always been good at climbing. When she had been a little girl in England, she had climbed trees that none of the other kids would dare. When she was a little older, she'd climb out of her bedroom window and escape without her parents knowing. Now she used this skill together with her excellent memory to work out the best way to disable the cameras. It wasn't thieving exactly, but the thrill was nearly the same. Pitting her wits against Gambit's made it all the sweeter. Whatever she felt about him, it would be good to prove that she was better than him at this.

Blaze had thought about dropping the disguise, but it offered her anonymity if she made a mistake and got caught out. Not that she thought she would be. Getting into position above the quad, she unstrapped a long thin tube from her back and took aim. There was a thudding noise as the tube recoiled against her shoulder. Perfect shot! Now for the rest of the school…

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Wednesday dawned bright and cheerful. Gambit woke up feeling grey and miserable. Today was the day. His court appearance coincided with the airing of the premiere of CCTV High. This was the last breakfast he would have outside of jail for a long time. He thought again about running. Again he dismissed it. Blaze had paid the bail, even if he had now cleared her debt. If he ran, she would be the one the police went to. He didn't want that to happen.

Gambit got up and pulled on a white shirt, grey tie and brand new black suit. He brushed his teeth and shaved, before going downstairs to make breakfast. Downside of his plan to get the Brotherhood back into school was that they were all up too. Blob filled half the kitchen, whilst Avalanche and Pietro argued over the toaster. Toad was sat on the table, snatching flies from round the trash with his long tongue. Remy took all this in within seconds, turned and left the room. He would pass on breakfast.

"Here," said Wanda, offering him a steaming cup of coffee in the hallway. "You look like you need it."

"T'anks Wanda," Remy said genuinely.

"Don't mention it," Wanda replied. "Look, I wanted to say good luck for today, alright?" Gambit thanked her again just as his cell phone started to ring. He fished it out of a pocket, looking at the caller ID. Wanda bit her lip as Gambit answered the call. His answers were short, restricted to yes and no answers. Gradually as the conversation went on he looked more and more annoyed. In the end he gave up, saying, "I'll be right there." Looking at Wanda as he ended the call he explained, "Belle obviously don't remember that I'm in court today."

"Is something wrong with her CCTV?" Wanda asked innocently. Gambit didn't reply, taking a sip of his coffee instead. Wanda decided to risk it, "I saw Blaze yesterday." Gambit betrayed nothing, so Wanda elaborated. "In school, using an image inducer… She told me you'd seen her too, but you hadn't handed her over?" Gambit concentrated on his coffee, swirling it in the cup before taking another long drink. Wanda pressed him again, "She must have been there to disable the cameras. Why didn't you stop her?

Gambit drained his coffee in three quick gulps and then handed the empty cup back to Wanda. She put the cup down and followed him out of the front door, the pretty pink stained glass glinting in the sunshine. Gambit's motorbike helmet was waiting on his bike saddle. Wanda pushed past him, snatching the helmet before he could escape.

"I know Blaze is an X-Man but she's also a friend of mine. She was upset after seeing you. You keep trying to protect her, Gambit, and it's tearing her apart. Why? Why can't you let her go?"

Gambit knew the answer. It had four letters and started with L, but he wasn't about to play charades with Magneto's daughter in the street. He silently held out a hand and waited until Wanda finally relented and gave him the helmet. He shoved it on his head, straddled the bike and turned the key. Seconds later he roared away from the scene, heading for Bayville High. Wanda sighed. She had tried. Now she had to break the news to the Brotherhood boys that they had got out of bed early for nothing. With no cameras and consequently no pay day, did any of them really want to still go to school?

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"What do you mean, you won't fix it!" Bella Donna yelled at her ex-boyfriend and current lackey in the middle of the school car park. "Every camera in de school has been taken out. The premiere is tonight, Remy, tonight. We got not'ing! I need you to fix it!"

"Fix it yourself," Remy told her, "I quit." He tossed the keys to the BDN motorbike to her, turned his back and walking away. Bella Donna watched, gaping like a guppy, as he stood up to her. His polished shoes, smart suit and sunglasses gave him a chilled presence. Kids on their way into school moved to either side to let him pass. It was then he noticed the big black van sat stationary in the car park. His heart skipped a beat as he saw Blaze leaning on the flank of the X-Van, watching everything that was going on between him and Bella Donna.

Blaze smiled when she saw Gambit had clocked her. Last night had given her a new confidence and she was ready to deal with Remy this time. He took off his sunglasses as he walked towards her, putting them in an inside pocket of his jacket. He did not look happy.

"Hey you," Blaze greeted him coyly. She nodded towards Bella, "I don't like your girlfriend."

"Huh," replied Remy. "I t'ink you got her a little upset. Couldn't stay away from the scene of the crime, could you?"

"I think you have me confused with someone else," Blaze replied. "I'm just here to drop the X-Kids off at school."

"Paint balls," Gambit elaborated. "You used paint balls to disable every camera in the school. Every one of them is fried. No mutant powers, no evidence of who did it. I have to say Cherie, I'm impressed."

Blaze shrugged with a smile, "If you're expecting a confession you've got the wrong girl."

"I don't doubt it," Gambit was smiling too now. Despite himself, he was proud of her. She was more like her old self today. It was good to see her happy. "I gotta go," he told her, glancing at his watch. "Belle might not remember but I got places to be today."

Blaze winced, pained for him. It's his own fault, she told herself. At the same time she wanted to help him, just like he had helped her. It didn't mean anything. It was just that she wanted to clear her debt for yesterday. As soon as she had thought it, she was speaking, "Wanna lift?"

Gambit froze. He turned back slowly, saying, "I can walk…"

"You'll be late," Blaze replied sensibly. She paused and then added, "Rem, I'm heading to court anyway. I may as well drive you."

"You are?" Gambit frowned.

"I want to be there," Blaze told him gently. "I need to." Her honesty disarmed Remy, who meekly submitted. They climbed into the van and pulled out of the car park. Belle glared at them as they left, her plans ruined.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip.

**10**

"There we go," Blaze said with pretend enthusiasm as she pulled up in the X-Van outside the Bayville Courtrooms. Already there were Bayville District News crews by the courtroom steps, ready to cover the day's events. Storm and Professor Xavier were there too, waiting for Blaze to arrive. Gambit took all of this in within seconds as he unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the door and climbed out. Blaze followed, locking the van and coming round the front to where Remy stood. He was looking at the grand stone building like it might bite him.

"Hey," Blaze reached out and brushed his hand with her fingertips. The contact, warm and soft, was enough to jolt Remy out of his reverie. He glanced at her and she gave him a comforting smile, "it's not like you don't deserve it."

"Many times over, Cherie," Remy appreciated the weak humour. He looked back at the building, watching two uniformed cops strolling in through the main entrance. Looking back at Blaze he seemed sad, "Take care, ok?"

"I'll be fine," Blaze promised. "You will be too, you'll see."

"If you say so," Remy replied glumly. Blaze quickly kissed his cheek and then walked over to Storm and the Professor, who both nodded to Gambit in solemn greeting. Gambit turned then and headed into the building. Inside he was greeted by an usher in a black robe, who directed him to where his co-accused Shrew and Pyro were waiting under police guard. Sitting down besides them, he loosened his tie and unfastened his top shirt button.

"What you doin' here, bail boy?" Pyro griped.

"T'ought I'd give you some moral support," Remy retorted.

"You… you didn't run?" Shrew said nervously. Remy just rolled his eyes and didn't reply. The usher was back and they were shepherded into the court room proper. The large room was filled with rows upon rows of dark wood pews. TV cameras were dotted about along with a smattering of lawyers, police officers and other such official people. A balcony at the back of the room was the public gallery. Remy spotted Blaze sitting with the other X-Men and wringing her hands nervously.

The judge was glowering as Gambit and his co-accused were ushered into to the dock. They spoke only to confirm their names when asked. The clerk read out charge against them, "Burglary with explosives." Remy gave a thin smile. If the cops had found any traces of explosives Gambit would eat his trench coat. There had been an explosion though, he'd give them that much. And a burglary… They had stolen hard drives from a Pizzazz! Entertainment complex in the centre of Bayville and been caught red-handed. Someone had paid them to break in. Gambit, a late-comer to the crime, didn't know who that person was. He doubted that Pyro and Shrew knew either.

"How do you plead?" the clerk asked the mutants.

"Not guilty," Gambit answered quickly. Pyro and Shrew followed his example. There was a murmur through the court. Gambit felt some satisfaction at that, but it fast became apparent that the murmur was not a reaction to the pleas. The doors at the back of the court room opened and a small party marched in. Bella Donna and Paradox flanked a large man who walked with a swagger. He had a receding hairline and a thin ponytail, wore an expensive suit and had the broken-nosed bulk of an ex-heavy weight boxer.

"George!" the newcomer addressed the judge jovially, opening his arms wide as he strode down the central aisle towards the front of the room. His accent was Eton English, posh and polished. "There appears to have been a misunderstanding. These gentlemen were hired by me, to test the security at my new facility. And can I say on record what a fine job they did of it." He stopped between the benches at the front of the room. The judge leaned over forward and frowned.

"Mr Jacobi, are you insinuating that these men had your permission to break into your premises with explosives and steal your property?"

"George, what do you take me for?" Alessandro Jacobi, the boss of Pizzazz! Entertainment, leered at the judge. "I am not the type of man to waste the court's precious time with wild allegations." He shot a meaningful look at the police contingent and the prosecution advocate. They all flinched. "Let these men go, George. There is no case to answer here."

"So be it," the judge sat back in his chair and waved a hand. Gambit, Shrew and Pyro exchanged a confused look as they were set free. This was all news to them. Shrew and Pyro gazed on Jacobi adoringly as they left the dock. Gambit held back, concerned. He felt a psychic nudge from the Professor. So, Charles was suddenly keen to have Gambit back on side, now he had something to offer the X-Men? Charles caught the thread of Gambit's thoughts and gave him the mental image of the X-Kids in return. Xavier needed to know what Jacobi was up to, in order to keep the kids safe. Gambit pushed the thought away and walked to join Bella Donna. Charles was left unsure whether Gambit would play the part of traitor in Jacobi's camp, but he had at least planted a seed in the Cajun's wayward mind.

"Thank you George," Jacobi told the judge flippantly. He waved a hand to one of the police officers. "Whilst I'm here, perhaps you could aid us by signing the arrest warrant this fellow has for you? This time it's for a real criminal."

"Who is it for?" The judge took the paperwork from the police minion and scrutinised it through his reading glasses.

"The vandal who broke into the school last night and destroyed the expensive television equipment installed there." As Jacobi spoke, Blaze felt her stomach lurch and had to bite her lip to stop herself from crying out. Gambit dared not glance across to the public gallery in case he gave Blaze away. "Her name is Raven Darkholme, sometimes called Mystique, and a former Bayville High principal."

The judge signed the warrant. Jacobi left with his minions in tow like goslings following a mother goose. Gambit went along, Bella's arm linked with his. He risked a glance at Blaze as they were leaving. She was white-pale, looking almost as relieved as she was confused. Outside two SUVs with blacked out windows was waiting. Paradox guided Shrew and Pyro into the first vehicle. Bella Donna thanked Jacobi as he allowed her to get into the second vehicle ahead of him. The driver held the door for Jacobi and then for Remy. Gambit didn't feel like he had any choice in the matter. He got in.

If Jacobi expected Gambit's thanks, he was disappointed. Remy cut straight to the chase. "It wasn't Mystique dat broke into the school."

"I know that, dear boy." Jacobi reclined in his seat next to Gambit. Bella Donna, sitting in front, sniggered softly. Gambit scowled and carried on.

"Arresting Mystique won't do you no good. Even if de cops can find her, they won't be able to hold her."

"I'm counting on it," Jacobi said darkly. He turned and gave Gambit an appraising look. The normally confident Cajun cringed under Jacobi's stare. It felt like the man was eating into his soul. He got you outta jail time, Gambit told himself. Whether he hired you or not, you owe him now. Jacobi took Gambit's silence as a cue to monologue. Gambit let him.

"I don't want Mystique arrested," Jacobi elaborated. "I want her angry. I am reliably informed she can be quite a foe. I want to unleash her on Bayville's police force and see what happens. It should be good television." Bella actually laughed at that. Jacobi smiled.

"You're not mad," asked Remy, "dat your big premiere tonight got taken out in a hailstorm of paintballs?"

"Bella has taken it a little personally, haven't you dear?" Jacobi smiled parentally at the blonde, who shrugged and stared out the window. She was fuming, Gambit realised, but she couldn't show it. Jacobi owned her too. "I myself was expecting just such an attack."

"You did not'ing to stop it," Gambit pointed out.

"I did everything to encourage it," Jacobi admitted. "The attack has been and will be talked about every hour, on the hour on Bayville District News right up until the premiere is due to air. People love failure, Remy," Gambit blanched to hear this man use his name, but why shouldn't Jacobi know who he was? "How many would have watched the premiere of some trashy high school reality show, I mean really? Not as many as will tune in now just to see how Bayville Lite Entertainment covers itself. Rest assured that everyone in Bayville will be watching my channel tonight."

"You're gonna show them somet'ing else," Gambit realised. "You always were. CCTV High was a diversion, a rouse."

"They told me you were smart," Jacobi indulged him. The boss turned away, looking out onto the streets of Bayville. "I think I'm going to like it here."


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip.

**11**

The whole court session left Blaze confused. Gambit was a free man, the charges dropped, so why was she not happy? And this thing with Mystique! If Mystique knew it was Blaze's crimes that she was being accused of, would Mystique come after Blaze? The pyrokenetic didn't know, and she didn't particularly want to find out. The whole way back to the Institute she tried to iron out her confusion, but to no avail. She was still perplexed that evening when she joined the X-Kids and Wolverine for the anticipated premiere of CCTV High.

They gathered in the rec. room, waiting to see how Bayville Lite Entertainment would manage to fill a prime time slot with a pitiful amount of footage. Boom Boom had saved Blaze a prime seat, front and centre, but the redhead declined with a shake of her curls. She went instead to perch next to where Logan was sat on the window ledge. Wolverine raised a bushy eyebrow at her as she sat down.

"A little birdie told me that you borrowed an image inducer yesterday and went back to school. Are you turning over a new leaf Firefly?"

"Nope," Blaze was adamant, "but drastic times, drastic measures 'n' all that. Don't worry Logan, I didn't learn anything."

"Glad to hear it," Wolverine chuckled. At that moment the TV voiceover lady made the announcement they were all waiting for.

"Due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control, the network premiere of CCTV High has been suspended until further notice…"

Nearly everyone in the room gave a rousing cheer. Logan managed a smile, pleased that the kids had their victory. Blaze would have cheered, but at that moment her cell phone buzzed with a new text message. She opened it with a thumb. It read; _'RUN'._

Suddenly outside the window bright floodlights lit up the evening like noon. There was the drone of helicopter rotors overhead and the scream of police sirens. The TV voiceover continued as the X-Men lurched to their feet. The picture on the screen was now showing the outside of the Institute as it was surrounded by armed police.

"Instead," said the voiceover with relish, "we go live now to just outside Bayville, where our heroic police force are acting on a lead that the Xavier Institute is a cover for a terrorist organisation. The allegation says that the terrorists are bringing dangerous foreign mutants into the United States illegally, hiding them in our schools and our communities, and training them to use their terrifying powers against us…"

At that moment the power was cut to the mansion. The building plunged into darkness, excepting the floodlights that lit every window from the outside. The TV went dead. Several of the younger kids screamed. There was the sound of breaking glass followed by men's voices shouting. A 'snickt' noise was Logan releasing his claws. Some of the X-Kids reached for their powers, but a commanding telepathic voice said #STOP#.

Charles Xavier had been expecting this, or something like this, ever since the TV crew appeared at the Institute gates. He knew that the worst possible thing that the X-Men could do right now was fight the police, live on TV. That would make the allegations impossible to deny. The 'dangerous mutant terrorists' had to come quietly. They had to find other ways to fight back. He told his children this calmly, assuring them that wheels were already in motion. He showed them Angel, and Blaze's South African cop friend Zack. The X-Men might not have understood, but they trusted Charles. By the time the TV crew had followed the cops into the Institute, the X-Men were standing down.

In the end it could not have been the exciting, sensational TV show that Bayville Lite were looking for. That of course was Xavier's plan. Under the floodlights the unresisting X-Men were lined up, identified, sorted and catalogued. The police had mug-shots in manila files showing those they wanted to arrest. Those on the police lists were handcuffed and bundled into police vans, taken away to who knew where.

Not everyone was in the files. Some of the X-Men weren't and they were told simply to move along. Bewildered, those who were released walked through the gates and outside the mansion walls. There they gathered away from the glare of the floodlights and the scrutiny of the cameras, counting in the fortunate few.

"Who is it?" a disembodied voice asked as a forlorn figure approached.

"Its Bobby," the boy replied. Iceman staggered into the circle looking shell-shocked. He had his arms wrapped around himself and looked about the group. The faces of Rogue, Kitty, Cannonball, Berserker and Jubilee materialised from out of the darkness. "Where's everyone else?"

"Gone," Berserker, the previously disembodied voice, replied. He didn't know how better to express what had just happened.

"Arrested," Kitty was more senior in the X-Men and recovering quicker. "For being foreign mutants, or helping them. Kurt, Roberto, Amara, Wolfsbane, Golan, Storm, Logan, both Xaviers…"

"They took Boom Boom," said Cannonball. "I was sat right by her. They said it was coz of her juvie record, y'know, the stuff her dad made her steal."

"What are we gonna do?" Jubilee asked, trying not to cry.

"Warren'll help us," Rogue decided firmly. She reached for the cell phone, only to discover she didn't have it. In a flash she remembered crashing into Pietro at school. Had she seen the phone since then? She didn't think so. Damn him!

"No, he won't," another voice said softly, coming in out of the darkness. There was a gentle whoosh as a handful of orange flames flickered into life. With the night around her and the fire casting her features into shadow, Blaze's eyes and hair looked black as death. She carried her torch in cupped hands in front of her as she walked into the circle. "We can't go to Warren, or my friend Zack. That's what the Professor was trying to tell us. We have to stay away from them so that they can do whatever they need to do to stop Alessandro Jacobi and free the X-Men."

"Why ain't ya been arrested?" Rogue snapped, pushing past the others to snarl at her rival. "You're in the country illegally, an' ya got a criminal record much worse than Tabby's. If any of us should have been rounded up an' taken away tonight it should have been you!"

"I don't know why they didn't take me," Blaze replied calmly, "but I am going to find out." Dismissing Rogue and thereby sealing her leadership of the small group, she turned to Berserker. "Ray, take the others down and ask the Morlocks if we can stay with them for a while. Tell them we'll be paying guests. Give Calisto this as a good will gesture," she unfastened her watch, which was expensive and would feed the Morlocks for a week, and passed it to Ray. Ray nodded, pocketing the watch. "I'll be there soon."

"Where are you going?" Kitty asked. Blaze didn't answer. She just walked away into the night.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip.

**12**

The Brotherhood of Mutants rarely agreed on anything, but tonight was an exception. They all agreed that despite their non-existent TV stardom and the equally non-existent pay cheque, it was all worth it. They sat on their sofa, glued to the TV as they watched their arch enemies be rounded up like cattle and shepherded into police custody. Toad had laughed so hard he had fallen off his chair and was now rolling around on the floor, chuckling away. Once Lance had seen Kitty make her exit stage left, he breathed a sigh of relief and was now grinning at a close up of Logan. Wolverine was using all his self control, which didn't amount to much, and walking into the waiting vehicle with a face like thunder. Quicksilver, Blob and Wanda were equally entertained. This was some TV show!

The front door with its pretty pink glass flew open furiously. The Brotherhood jumped at the bang. Blaze strode into the hallway, her brown eyes flashing dangerously and her red hair flaming. Wanda recovered quickest, saying, "He's upstairs." Blaze stomped up the stairs and flung open a bedroom door without knocking. She flounced inside, barely registering the motley assortment of boxes, bubble-wrap and bags that were scattered around the floor. Angry and weary in equal measures, she begged, "Tell me it wasn't you. Tell me you didn't sell the X-Men out!"

"Mon Dieu, you're alright!" Gambit replied with evident relief. He dropped the sticky tape he was using to seal a box, crossed the room and swept Blaze up into his arms. Then he kissed her. Blaze was so shocked she didn't resist, swooning in his arms like some Victorian heroine. When finally Remy broke the kiss, Blaze hid her face in his chest and he just wrapped his arms around her tightly. They were both shaking. Gambit kissed the top of her head and felt her trying to fight the sobs that shook her slender body. Eventually Blaze managed to lift her chin and speak.

"What did you do?"

"I made a deal," Gambit admitted, his voice husky and his accent thick, "dat's all. Jacobi had all dis planned from day one. Not'ing I could have done would have saved Xavier an' the others, but I could save you. I gave them an angle, promised to work for them and they agreed to leave you off de list."

"Why?" Blaze asked, confused.

"You know why," Remy told her, brushing a curl away from her cheek with a finger. "Cherie, listen to me. You gotta get out of Bayville. Not'ing good is gonna happen here. I know what Jacobi is planning. Dis is only the start. You gotta get outta town, outta the country if you can. Go back to Paris, you'll be safe dere."

Blaze shook her head, blinking back tears, "No."

"I'll come find you," Gambit promised her, "jus' as soon as Jacobi cuts me loose…"

"No," Blaze repeated. She pulled away from Gambit. He didn't understand, so she explained, "I'm not leaving Bayville. I'm an X-Man. If Jacobi wants a fight, the X-Men will give him one and I'll be with them."

"The X-Men are finished…"

"Not yet we're not," Blaze said as she turned and walked away. "You can tell him that."

Downstairs Quicksilver was holding Rogue's cell phone at arms length as it rang. The caller ID showed Warren. Pietro rolled his eyes and gave the phone a little shake.

"Honestly, this is like the fifth time tonight Angel has called me. He should know by now I'm just not that kind of girl!" Toad and Blob sniggered at the joke, just as Blaze came down the stairs and into the room. She took one look at the phone, recognised it and snatched it out of Quicksilver's hand. Then she left, the front door slamming shut behind her with an air of finality.

Gambit went to the window of his room to watch Blaze leave. She answered Rogue's cell as she walked down the path to the road. Gently, quietly, Remy opened the window so he could hear the conversation.

"Hi Warren, its Blaze… No, Rogue's fine. Ignore anything that came from this number in the last forty-eight hours, Quicksilver was causing mischief… I know, but we've got bigger problems. No don't tell me. It'd be better if I don't know what Zack, the Professor and you are planning… I just hope it's a smarter plan than the one I have… Time? No problem. I can give you time… I know… Thanks Warren and good luck."

Gambit stepped back into the shadows of his room as Blaze ended the call. She glanced round at the mansion but didn't see him at the window. Calling on her powers she set fire to the cell phone. It turned to ash in her hand and blew away in the breeze. Then she walked away. She pulled the hood of her sweater up over her head and pushed her hands into the pockets. The last Gambit saw of her was a black hunched figure disappearing into the night time. He knew then that the next time he saw her, she would be his enemy.

The next time he saw her, Jacobi's men and the remaining X-Men would be at war.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Next time, on X-Men Evolution... THE FINAL EPISODE!

"What are you planning to do?" Calisto asked, her voice echoing through the sewer tunnel.

"Exactly what Jacobi wants," Blaze said solemnly. "Start a war. You're welcome to join us." She opened her arms and addressed all the gathered Morlocks. "All of you."

"Its suicide," Calisto scoffed. She looked passed the frightening fire elemental to her X-Men colleagues. "You're all in agreement?"

"We are," Rogue answered for them.

"You'll go up against everyone? Jacobi's mutant hirelings? The police? The TV crews? Magneto and his cronies?"

"Absolutely," Shadowcat replied, folding her arms.

"You can't possibly hope to win," said Calisto.

"We don't need to win," Blaze replied. "We need to buy Angel and Zack the time they need."

"Yet you have no idea what Angel and this cop friend of yours have planned?" scoffed the Morlock.

"I have an idea," Blaze let slip, "and I hope it works, but I'm not getting involved. They are on their own just like we are."

"You're not on your own," a familiar voice said from the dark depths of the tunnel. Everyone, X-Men and Morlocks, turned at the sound. A lithe figure strode from the blackness. Blue skin, yellow eyes, red hair and dressed in skin tight black, Mystique knew how to make an entrance. "Jacobi wants me arrested for a crime I didn't commit." She looked pointedly at Blaze, who gave a humourless smile. "My enemy's enemy is my new best friend. I will help you even if these cowards will not."

"The Morlocks are not cowards!" Calisto snapped.

"Then you'll both help us," Blaze stated a fact. Turning her back on Mystique and the Morlock leader she walked away into the tunnels. The X-Men followed. The war was begun…

Roll credits…...


End file.
